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Commission rejects privet hedge at Sparrow property, asks for alternative privacy and parking plan
Summary
The commission denied approval of privet as a hedge at the Sparrow property and voted to require the applicants to submit an alternative planting or fence plan, a defined parking footprint and a limit on hedge height (4 feet) or a picket fence option.
The New Shoreham Historic District Commission on Sept. 29 told owners Aaron and Matthew Sparrow to abandon plans to plant privet along the frontage of their property and to return with an alternative privacy and parking proposal that protects the site’s viewshed and avoids invasive plantings.
Commissioners and other meeting participants raised conservation concerns about privet, describing it as an invasive species on the island and recommending substitute plantings such as viburnum, Rosa rugosa or native beach grasses. Several commissioners said a tall privet hedge would encroach visually into the road and could grow into the right of way if planted and maintained incorrectly.
The commission voted to require the applicants to present a revised plan showing the exact parking footprint (square footage and location) if they intend to install a crushed-shell parking area and to propose a noninvasive hedge or a low picket fence alternative. The motion limited acceptable hedge height to a maximum of 4 feet if a hedge is used, or otherwise to a low picket fence; commissioners asked for exact locations and dimensions in the resubmission.
Commissioners expressed concern that a large hedge would obscure an iconic view-shed of the nearby pond and that unchecked hedges on the island have previously grown into the public right of way. The commission’s action requires a more detailed plan for the parking and landscape work before any planting or ground disturbance may proceed.
